riding a bicycle, even riding one really fast does not an athlete make. really good riders have a bag of tricks to help get them out of trouble and those skills require practice. the basic things you need to be able to do, and not necessarily in this order:

bunny hop, brake with your stomach on the saddle and your rear off the bike, grab your water bottle safely while in a group, hold your line in a fast corner.

when i conducted learn-to-race clinics, i'd use cones, milk cartons, etc. to set up obstacles and courses in parking lots. i'd have the riders play games of slow on grass, and then have them lean on each other while riding using their shoulders and elbows. you might benefit from some of these types of drills.